6 Months - Aug 3, 2020

Hoooooooola! Cómo están?

I hope you all had a súper good week!

First of all... I HIT 6 MONTHS IN THE MISSION!!!! I come home in less than 1 year from now!! It's absolutely wild, the time has flown by.

Last Monday we went to Toledo again, and...it was awful, again. Last time we just walked around for 20 minutes and then sat in a park with our zone for 5 hours, and this time we did some shopping (for just 30 minutes) and got lunch and then..sat in a park for 2 hours. We were going to try to go to a castle but it was closed like everything else. Toledo is officially the city of broken dreams and I'm never going again. Also, it was 108°. But that's ok! Because today for PDay we went to Sol! The city of fulfilled dreams! Haha, it was so much fun. We started by going to the Prado (an art museum in Madrid) and we were there for 3 hours - it's huge. It was so beautiful and I'm glad I did it with Hermana Romero! I wanted to go when I went to Sol for the first time because, you know, it's the Prado, but my companion said she went once and it wasn't worth the money (it's 8€ and I had a blast but it's fine). Afterward, we walked down the Gran Vía and did some shopping. Ok, a lot of shopping. We walked around and got the best churros and chocolate in Spain according to various sources. It was incredible and definitely better than what I tried in Móstoles!

But this week was good, although kind of hard. The majority of our citas failed us, including one person who canceled as we were walking to her house, and the other who said she wasn't home while we were standing at her door. But it's ok! The Lord loves effort, as we learned in the last General Conference. We're trying the best we can and even if we're not seeing success now, those efforts are valid and we'll see the fruits of our labors one day soon.

Buuuuut we do have 3 fechas bautismales!! 3 of our friends have accepted to prepare for baptism and it's so cool to see their progression. One of them (which I think I've talked about) was looking for reasons not to get baptized even though she has a really strong testimony. I've seen that happen with another friend I had in Móstoles, and they both did it out of fear. I don't know what happened with James in my last area but for Maritza, she decided to try. Then there's Stiven who's 18 or 19 and is going through some hard things in his life. He has really great questions and loves to learn about the gospel. He asked us how he could be happy in his life with everything going on, and at the end of that lesson, he said "obviously" he wants to be baptized! Qué bendición! Then we have Carlos, who had a baptismal date before everything with the Coronavirus happened. He wasn't really meeting with the missionaries during that time so Hermana Romero and I started over on the lessons with him. He said he also would love to be baptized! I think he's moving out of our area soon so we might not get to share that day with him, but all that matters is that he found the truth and is ready to take this step that will bless his life.

In the mission, we have 1 hour to do personal study. I know I'm going to come home and not take an hour to study the scriptures/talks/church literature every day, but I wish I would! It's my favorite part of the day and I always learn so much. Reading the scriptures is so important because not only do you receive personal revelation for your life through the stories and teachings of the prophets, but it gives you a protection throughout the day against the adversary and helps you have an eternal perspective. I know the Book of Mormon was written by prophets who were inspired by God, specifically for us in our day. I know I'm going to read it my whole life and find 50 new things each time that I hadn't noticed before, or that hit me in a different way depending on my life situation. And that's true for everyone. The gospel is simple enough that a child can understand but complex enough that it has the answers to every question and circumstance. Heavenly Father is anxious to talk to us and is constantly reaching out, trying to help, but it's our choice whether or not we hear Him. This gospel and the knowledge I have gives me a true purpose in life and hope for what's to come in the future, among so many other blessings. I am seriously so grateful to be serving a mission right now. I'm kind of the luckiest person in the world that Heavenly Father trusts me enough to let me do a little part of His great work.

I love you all so much! I miss you and I hope you have the best week! Feel free to tell me about it any time 😁

Un abrazo muyyyy fuerte,

Hermana Carlson

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